The Dutch Senate has approved an amendment to the Municipal Debt Counseling Act (Wet gemeentelijke schuldhulpverlening (Wgs)). The amendment gives municipalities the opportunity to exchange data from citizens with payment arrears at an early stage with housing corporations, energy and drinking water companies and health insurers. This enables municipalities to identify people with debts in time and to offer debt assistance. The amendment will take effect on January 1, 2021.
An estimated 1.4 million households in the Netherlands have problematic debts or run the risk of ending up in them. These numbers are expected to increase as a result of the corona crisis. On average, people walk around for four to five years with financial problems before raising the alarm, which can lead to high debts. After the amendment of the law, aid providers may voluntarily offer debt assistance on the basis of signals about late payments. In this way, debts can be identified and dealt with earlier.
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NAZALI TAX & LEGAL |